The Fashion Institute of Technology's (F.I.T.) 2003 Patricia Zipprodt Award for Innovative Costume Design will be presented to Tony Award winner Willa Kim on April 28.

The third annual awards ceremony will be held at the famed Sardi's Restaurant in New York City, and veteran costume designer Tony Walton will be on hand to present Kim with her trophy.

The evening features tributes and performances by people who have donned Kim's creations, including Cady Huffman, Ann Runolfson and Priscilla Baskerville.

Also to be presented that evening will be the President's Business Leadership Award. It goes posthumously to Barbara Matera, the woman behind the famed theatrical costumers, Barbara Matera Limited. Matera's husband and business partner, Arthur Matera, will accept.

Anyone who has seen the Broadway productions of The Will Rogers Follies, Sophisticated Ladies, Song & Dance, Dancin', Victor/Victoria, Grease! and Goodtime Charley has taken in Kim's artistry. She won Tony Awards for the first two shows. She won Drama Desk Awards for Operation Sidewinder, Promenade and The Screens, and an Obie for The Old Glory.

Designed to create an initial bond between F.I.T.’s Costume Design Program and the greater Broadway community, the annual Zipprodt awards are also meant to establish awareness for the Fashion Institute within the theatre world. This enhanced profile will enable school management to offer more comprehensive programs. The annual event will benefit the F.I.T. program directly. Patricia Zipprodt's career as a costume designer was frequently punctuated with Tony Awards and nominations. She took home three Tonys for costume design, for Fiddler on the Roof ('65), Cabaret ('67) and for Sweet Charity ('86). Her costume design Tony nominations include Zorba ('69), Pippin ('73), Mack and Mabel ('75), Chicago ('76), Alice in Wonderland ('83), Sunday in the Park with George ('84) and Shogun: The Musical ('91).